"I remember that night as vividly as if it happened yesterday, even though it was three long years ago. My husband and I were peacefully asleep in our royal chamber when those vile bastards, wielding their accursed magic, barged in through the windows like madmen on a rampage.
Before my husband could even reach for his sword, they ruthlessly shot two arrows into both of his knees, causing him to crumble to the ground in agony. I watched in horror as they callously kicked and toyed with him, his cries of pain echoing in the room. He had done no harm to any of them, and when the guards arrived, they too fell easily, struck down by those wicked magical arrows.
As I attempted to shout for help, one of them forcefully covered my mouth, silencing any chance of rescue. With a cruel glint in their eyes, they mercilessly plunged a knife into my husband's body repeatedly, bringing him to the brink of death only to heal him and repeat the horrifying process.
The night was a relentless torment that lasted for three excruciating hours. I eventually lost consciousness, but when I regained my senses, the gruesome onslaught continued. Finally, they must have seen that my husband could no longer make a sound, and they ended his life in the most brutal manner.
Then those bastards, went for my children. First my son, Atlas. They toyed with him by throwing daggers at his chest, after they got bored with him, one of them grabbed one pf his leg and pulled it away from his body brutally.n-)O𝗏𝗲𝓵𝔟1n
He shouting sounds are still in mind... He shouted my name again again. 'Mommy Help Me... Mommy Help me.'
I tried to break free of them but i couldn't because i was weak, I was afraid.
When Atlas stopped screaming, something died inside of me but that's not where those bastards stopped.
They immediately attacked my middle daughter, Laura. They ripped her clothes, raped her, kicked her in her vagina, shoved up a sword in her mouth and killed her too.
My mind couldn't handle it. I felt so powerless at that moment i wanted to commit suicide at the moment but it was not the end of my suffering.
That's when they went for me. Those elf bastards, ripped off my clothes like some beasts in heat and raped me over and over till the morning but when they were about to kill me, my husband's knight commander reached in front of our room and saw those bastards.
As soon as he unsheathed his sword, those elf bastards ran away, like cowards."
"They managed to escape?" Anon inquired.
"Yes, but their queen sought me out for a meeting. She offered apologies for her kin's actions, but then she uttered two sentences that still haunt me to this day," Derein continued.
"What did she say?" Anon pressed further.
"She said, 'I apologize once again, but they were just some drunk kids. You should forgive them. Your kind is not that good either; your kind killed my father in battle against the demon king.'"
"Well, that's true. Your father was involved in the strategy of mass murdering during the war, wasn't he?" Anon remarked.
"I acknowledge his actions, but why did they have to kill my husband for his past deeds? Why should my children suffer for what my father did?" Derein's eyes glistened with tears, but she refused to let them fall.
"Take a moment to compose yourself," Anon advised, trying to console her.
"No, I made an oath upon my children and husband's graves that I will obliterate the elven race from this world. I won't shed a single tear until I have wiped them out or enslaved them. They will suffer the same fate they inflicted on my husband, or worse," Derein vowed, her eyes burning with a fierce desire for revenge.
'Enslaving the elf race? An interesting plan, but I prefer to have a separate elf harem for myself. I can't let them go extinct before that,' Anon mused as he closed the distance between himself and Derein.I think you should take a look at
"Queen Derein, I will help you," Anon declared.
"Huh? Really?" Derein asked, taken aback by his sudden offer.
"Yes, but not in the way you imagine," Anon clarified.
"What do you mean?" Derein inquired.
"Give me five months, and I will take over the elven kingdom without resorting to violence or bloodshed," Anon proclaimed.
A chill ran down Derein's spine as she heard Anon's confident words. The look in his eyes was enough to convince her that he spoke the truth.
"Your words are bold, but I couldn't even infiltrate their kingdom for one year. Do you truly believe you can take over the entire kingdom in just five months? Elves are wise creatures, having lived for thousands of years and witnessed almost everything in the human domain. Do you still think you can succeed?" Derein questioned skeptically.
"When I speak, I never take my words back," Anon responded, his demeanor unwavering.
'Wow! It sounded even cooler than I imagined,' Anon thought with a sense of satisfaction.
"I'll give you one year to accomplish your goal of taking over the elf kingdom. If you fail, you'll have to come to my castle and grant me full control over your ogre army. However, you'll be treated as an equal and allowed to live in my castle. What do you say? It's a win-win for you," Queen Derein proposed, her expression serious.
"Okay, I agree, but I won't need that long to fulfill my promise," Anon declared with confidence.
"Let's formalize our agreement with a mana contract," Derein suggested.
"Why? Don't you trust me?" Anon inquired.
"I do, but the queen within me wants reassurance," Derein explained.
"Fair enough," Anon acknowledged as he gazed at Derein.
Derein promptly summoned a mana contract, and they both signed it with their blood after writing their terms.
"Thank you, Anon. I will never forget this," Derein expressed her gratitude with a smile.
Suddenly, a knight rushed towards them, interrupting their conversation.
"My Queen, Sir Arthur is awake, but he doesn't appear well. He's asking for you," the knight reported, bowing on one knee.
Both Anon and Queen Derein rushed back to the healer camps, their faces grim with determination. There, they found King Arthur lying on a large bed, surrounded by a circle of healers casting continuous healing spells.
As Arthur caught sight of Derein, he spoke in a soft and weakened tone, "Hello, My Love."
"No, Arthur. Save your strength, don't speak," Derein pleaded.
"I don't have much time. I can feel it, my body is fading," Arthur spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.
Cough-cough He suddenly coughed, vomiting a handful of blood.
"No, No, No... Healers, do something!" Derein shouted in desperation.
"Queen Derein, can you come here for a moment?" The Great Mother called for her.
Reluctantly, Derein approached, but Arthur grabbed her hand to stop her. "Don't go, she will tell you what I already know. My time is running out."
"No, that's not it, Arthur-" Derein tried to reason, but the Great Mother interrupted.
"King Arthur is right. His end is near, and there's no easy way to say it. I'm sorry, but it's the truth," the Great Mother said somberly.
"How can he die? There are over sixteen healers here, and you're saying he will still die?" Derein asked, her anger seeping through her words.
"Derein, please calm down," Grok intervened as he grabbed her hand.
"I understand-" Grad began, but Derein's rage turned on him, her eyes glowing bright blue.
"Shut up, You don't know how it feels to lose someone, you love. This guy over here didn't even got married and you, your wife is still alive, right ? But i lost many things and I can't lose him." Derein spoke as she looked at grad and grok.
"Ma'am, this is the harsh reality of life. One who is born must die, and today is King Arthur's time. No matter what we do, it cannot be altered, it's written by the gods. You can't change fate of the one that the god wrote for him." the Great Mother spoke solemnly.
"Enough, don't tell me if he will die or live. Just tell me the problem in healing him," Queen Derein asked one of the healers.
"My Queen, King Arthur has been affected by Negative Mana. It's consuming his original mana, turning him into a demon from within. Our healing powers can only slow it down, but we can't reverse or destroy it," the healer responded.
"Is there any artifact or magical medicine that can help? Maybe we need more experienced healers? Call more experienced healers feom my kingdom." Queen Derein asked, her eyes fixed on Arthur.
"Time is precious, my love. Come here; I want to talk to you and make the gods jealous, knowing I spoke to the most beautiful woman in my final moments," Arthur stretched his hand towards Derein.
"We should give them some privacy; everyone out of the tent," the Great Mother commanded.
"Can I take a look?" Anon asked, directing his gaze at Derein.
"Who are you? What are you doing in this camp?" The Great Mother asked with an air of suspicion.
"Ma'am, he's the one I was telling you about," one of the elite knight commanders whispered to the Great Mother.
"Oh, I-I apologize, dear sir. I didn't know who you were. Please forgive my rudeness," the Great Mother's tone shifted.
"May I take a look at him, Queen Derein?" Anon asked again as he closed his distance.I think you should take a look at
"Sure, go ahead," Derein replied, standing up as she understood his powers and hoped that he can heal arthur.
"Hello, Sir. I am King Arthur, and I owe you more than I can express. You came as an ally and helped us win this war. You are like a god's mercenary to us. Please meet my son after this ordeal, and one more thing: If you don't mind, can you kill me when I start turning into a demon? These healers won't do it until I kill one of them, so please," Arthur spoke emotionally.
"Quiet," Anon said as he placed his hand on Arthur's chest, where a dark energy was decaying his body.
"Ahhh..." Arthur winced in pain.
[Dense Negative Mana Has been Detected]
[Would you like to Absorb The Negative Mana?]
Two screens appeared in front of Anon.
'Yes.' Anon answered without hesitation.
The black negative mana started leaving Arthur's body, forming a ball of dark matter on Anon's fingertip. As it departed, the healing process accelerated, and Arthur's chest began to recover at an astonishing rate.
"This is absurd. How is he manipulating Negative Mana? Only demons can do that," one of the knight captains said, gripping his sword's hilt.
"He's right, Queen Derein. I think your new friend here is a demon," the Great Mother added.
Chk
Chk
Two swords were immediately pointed at Anon, one by Grok and the other by Grad.
"The healing is working. Look, King Arthur is healing," one of the healers exclaimed.
"Put your weapons down. I will count to three, and if any swords are pointed at this man, I will point mine at him. Now, 1, 2...3." Before Derein could reach "3," all the swords were lowered.
"But he's a demon. He can control Negative Mana. Are we now friends with a demon?" Grok argued.
"At least he's not killing you, and he's helping Arthur. So, if you use your brains, you'll see that he's a friend, not an enemy, you fools," Derein snapped.
[Negative Mana has been absorbed completely]
Anon stood up, holding a basketball-sized sphere of black matter in his hands, and walked out of the tent.
"Let's see what you can do." Anon said as he threw the Negative Mana sphere towards a nearby tree.
As it touched the tree, the Negative Mana enveloped it, decaying the tree into nothing within seconds.
"That's toxic, i can't imagine what would've happened to my body if i were to use it." Anon remarked, looking at the tree.
Anon then looked at his finger and noticed that his bone was visible because the black matter of negative mana has eaten away his finger's mass.
"You know what he is, Derein. Even if he saved Arthur's life, that doesn't change his reality. He is a demon, and we confirmed it just now," Grok spoke, his words resolute.
"I will go and talk to him," Derein declared as she walked out of the tent, finding Anon examining his finger. She noticed the wound on his finger, decayed yet slowly healing.
"You are not a demon, are you?" Derein inquired.
"No," Anon replied.
"I knew it. The negative mana never shows physical effects on a demon's body. So, are you human?" Derein asked with a confused expression.
"100%," Anon answered.
"Then how did you manipulate the negative mana?" Derein pressed.
"I can't reveal my cards like that, can I?" Anon replied with a confident smile behind his mask.
Derein persisted, "Can you prove it to my partners that you are not a demon?"
"Why should I prove myself to anyone? The powerful one never needs to prove himself to the weaker once, does he ?" Anon retorted.
"Because we don't make friends out of the demon race," Grok interjected from inside the tent.
"Don't listen to him. He's just foolish. But if you prove today that you are human and belong to our race, no one in the future will point at you for being a demon," Derein reasoned.
"Well, let's see what kind of test you have for me." Anon said, turning around to face Derein.
Inside the tent...
Grok and Grad talked about the Little fight they had with Anon some moments ago.
"That's what I was wondering. How can he move so fast? Now I understand how he did that, because he is a demon," Grad spoke to Grok.
"Yes, demons are agile creatures," Grok concurred.
Derein re-entered the tent, holding three crystal balls in her hands. "Here you go," she said, giving one to Grok.
"What's this?" Grok asked, observing the shining words inside the crystal ball.
"Hmm...? What is this, Queen Derein?" Grad inquired.
"This is verification that he is human," Derein explained.
"This... It can't be true. How can he be human? This has to be fake," Grok replied, his expression one of disbelief.
Anon re-entered the tent and looked at Grad and Grok, who were still staring at the crystal ball in astonishment.
"Well, let's prove if it's fake or not. Sir, will you place your hand on this crystal ball?" Derein requested, holding the crystal ball before Anon.
Without hesitation, Anon placed his hand on the crystal ball, and the same words as before appeared.
"Are you kidding me? If he is a Human. How do you explain the negative mana control? It can only be manipulated by demons," Grad said, a perplexed expression on his face.
"Well, now it's changed. I changed it. Now all the demons and one human can control the negative mana," Anon asserted.
Silence enveloped the room as everyone contemplated Derein's words and the possibility that Anon was truly human.
"Now that your doubts are clear, why don't we clear up the debts?" Anon said, summoning his sickles of death.
"Oi, What are you doing?" Grok asked, recognizing the sensation from before.
"I have been polite for the past hour, but you crossed the line when you pointed your swords at me just a moment ago," Anon said, directing both sickles at Grad and Grok's faces.
Bloodlust started oozing out of his body.
"So what? I am the king, I can do whatever I want, and I am sorry for that, but you can't kill me for something like that," Grok stammered.
"Well, i will be sure to say sorry after killing you." Anon said as he moved the sickles closer to their necks.
"Sir, please put your weapons down. I don't think you want to do this on such a good occasion. Why don't you give them one last warning and i will manage the rest ?" Arthur suggested as he stood up from the bed and got dressed.
Anon lowered his sickles and spoke, "Listen, you attitude holders. I know you became kings after fighting many battles, but what will happen if I ask for a duel with you in front of your audience? Your soldiers?"
Neither of them answered and just continued to stare at Anon.
"Let me tell you what will happen, you guys will have to accept it, forcefully, because you can't say no to someone who challenged you in front of your audience. But once you accept it, you will get beaten down by me, brutally. Once your people, your soldiers, see that, they will lose faith in you. They will lose faith because you are not the powerful one anymore. It will be me," Anon said assertively.
"Are you threatening me?" Grok questioned as his expressions turned into a suspicious one.
"No, I am just telling both of you to be in your limits. You believe that with some handful of soldiers, you can win the world. But you don't know that I can crush them with just my right hand's thumb, so be careful next time you talk to me.
Threatening is something that one says but can't do; this is my promise: the next time you badmouth me, your son or daughter will be the next king or queen of your Continent.
I will be taking my leave now," Anon declared as he gave both of them a deadly gaze and walked out of the tent.
"Sir, wait," Arthur said, following him outside.
Suddenly Frank entered the tent from behind and saw King Grok and King Grad standing in one corner with uncomfortable expressions. "What happened? Sir Grad? Sir Grok?" Frank asked.
Both of them hurriedly left the tent from the other side.
"What happened to them? Care to explain, great Mother?" Frank inquired.
"Well, let's just say a guy we don't even know just showed his authority and threatened to kill the kings of two big Continents, without any filters in his words." the great mother explained.
"Let me guess, was it the guy in the mask ?" Frank asked with a smile.
"Yep."
"Knew it."
Arthur stood tall, his eyes locked with Anon's as he posed the question, "Sir, will you come to the feast today in the royal castle?"
"I will try," Anon responded, his voice low and unwavering, as he continued to walk with an air of confidence.
"I am sorry for my partner's behavior. Please forgive them. They just fear the demons, that's why they pointed their swords at you, i hope you can really forgive them in your heart." Arthur quickly explained, trying to smooth over any tension.
Whistle
Anon let out a sharp, piercing whistle, and from the heavens, a magnificent black raven swooped down, landing gracefully at his feet.
Anon leaped onto the raven's back with practiced ease, his presence emanating power and authority. "Please come, the food will be good," Arthur called out in an attempt to convince Anon to join the feast.
But Anon was focused on another mission. "Soldiers, we are going back!" he bellowed, flying above the ogre soldiers who were feasting on food prepared by human soldiers.
"Everyone, follow master. We are heading back." No. 300, one of Anon's loyal companion, commanded, and all the ogres promptly mounted their wolves and left.
The ogres who were in middle of their meal aslo left the meal and followed the others immediately.
"Witness how swiftly they obey his orders, it's like they already knew what their master was about to order." marveled a human soldier, awestruck by the obedience of the ogre soldiers.
"Well, guess they are not as slacky as you, i hope you learn something from them." their knight commander retorted, acknowledging the unique bond Anon held with his followers.
Inside Arthur's tent...
Grok spoke with frustration, "You saw it, Arthur. Didn't you? That kid threatened to kill us in front of you, Derein, and the leaders of the seven Royal houses. Even my knight commander was laughing at me. I felt so inferior today, i can't even explain it."
Arthur calmly replied, "What do you want me to do about it?"
Grad's voice grew heated as he expressed his displeasure, "Arthur, we came to help you in this war, but when that kid threatened us, you did nothing... and now you say 'What do i want you to do about it ?'. You tone has changed drastically, as i see."
"It's not that king Grad, Don't take my talks in a wrong way." Arthur replied as he sat down on a table filled with different delicious meals.
"I will take it the wrong way, because when that kid was threatening us, you just sat on your bed watching two sickles being pointed at our faces and doing nothing about it." Grad spoke in an angry tone.
Arthur interjected, "That's what I am asking you. What do you expect me to do in that situation? You would've spoken up if you were strong enough to face him, but you two stood there because you knew you were not strong enough.I think you should take a look at
But When he started speaking, he held authority over all of us. His bloodlust rendered us speechless. Even if I had said anything back then, I would've stood by your side now. King Grok and King Grad, I don't want to be disrespectful or anything, but honestly I don't want to make enemies with someone who just wiped out an S-rank threat for our Kingdom."
Grok retorted, "So you're saying you won't support us if we go against him, right?"
Arthur paused, then clarified, "I never said that. I will support you. You helped me in this situation, and I will undoubtedly return the favor. But let me offer some advice. Don't go against him. He has transcended the boundaries of humans. If I'm correct, he's not even 18 yet. None of you were that strong at his age. So, I suggest you try to establish a friendly relationship with him. Derein, share your impressions of the boy."
Derein hesitated, then spoke, "I talked with him and tried to discern his boundaries and limits."
Grok and Grad were curious, "What did you find out?"
Derein revealed, "He said, and I quote, 'I can take over this kingdom easily.'"
Grok laughed dismissively, "Are you kidding me? He's just a child with some special abilities, showing off."
Derein calmly countered, "Grok, I used the
[Tone Of Truth] [Special Grade Skill] [Archer Class Exclusive Skill]
[The skill known as "Tone of Truth" is a concealed and enigmatic ability that allows its user to extract unwavering honesty from their targets without the latter being aware of its application. When activated, this skill grants the user the power to pose any question to the target, seeking the truth about any matter they desire to know. As the user speaks, a subtle aura of influence emanates from them, imperceptible to the target. This aura sets the stage for the Tone of Truth to take effect, without raising any suspicion or alerting the target to the manipulation of their words.
The true potency of this skill lies in its ability to discern falsehoods. If the target responds to a question with a lie, the user is immediately aware of the deception. There are no loopholes or equivocation that can escape the keen insight provided by the Tone of Truth. This formidable ability makes it nearly impossible for the target to hide any dishonesty from the user.
However, such power does not come without sacrifice. The user of the Tone of Truth must adhere to a fundamental drawback: they become incapable of speaking falsehoods themselves. This binding effect ensures that the user's words are always genuine and honest, even if it leads to personal discomfort or disadvantage.]
Stunned, Grad realized the gravity of the situation, "Wait, you are not kidding, right?"
Derein's expression was solemn, "King Grad, why do you think we are nobles or kings and queens while everyone standing outside is just a normal soldier?"
Confused, Grok responded, "We are far stronger than them, that's why."
Derein replied simply, "Then that's your answer. Anon is far stronger than any of us. He is the true royalty, and you have to accept it."